SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE

"THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE"
(2002) (Robert Evans) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Moderate	Heavy	*Moderate	*Heavy

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Mild	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Extreme	Mild	Moderate	*Heavy

QUICK TAKE:: Documentary: Producer Robert Evans recounts his rise and fall from Hollywood power, fame and fortune.

PLOT:: Actor turned producer Robert Evans recounts his dealings in and with Hollywood from his meager early acting career in the 1950s to his role as producer and self-proclaimed savior of Paramount Pictures in the 1960s and '70s to his fall from grace as well as the love of then-wife Ali MacGraw.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Unless they're really into movie history, it's not very likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language and some brief violent and sexual images.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: ROBERT EVANS plays himself (in documentary mode), an egotistical actor turned powerful producer who figured out how to make movies to save a studio. He's seen holding or smoking cigars and notes his later drug addiction that cost him his career. He also uses strong profanity.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this R-rated pseudo-documentary. Profanity consists of at least 20 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are used. Explicit, sexually related dialogue is also present, a few women's bare breasts (in a movie clip and still photo) and part of an actor's bare butt (in a still photo) are seen, as is a couple in bed, presumably after sex (in a movie clip).

Other movie clips show various scenes of violence (including shootings, knifings, others being hit, etc.) that have some briefly bloody results, while some wartime archival footage (bombs dropping and exploding) is also present. Various still photos and some moving footage show various people smoking and/or drinking, and the narrator comments on having a drug problem (with cocaine) in the past, but no use is seen.

Meanwhile, various characters have bad attitudes, while some tense family material (in the form of announced divorces) is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: We see some shots of people with drinks, including Evans.
We see more shots of people with drinks, as well as some champagne being poured.
Evans states that after he and Ali got married, they uncorked one bottle of Dom (champagne) after another and got "loaded" (and we see a still photo of champagne in an ice bucket and some in glasses).
We briefly see an old Times Square ad for Canadian Club whiskey.
We see people having drinks after a screening.
Evans mentions that he was in his forties and that the drug era had passed him by, but then goes on about a woman in bed with him giving him some cocaine for some pain he was in (we don't see the usage, but he states that was the beginning of his addiction).
We see people toasting the success of a film.
We see shots of people with drinks.
Evans mentions wanting to be in on a purchase of pharmaceutical cocaine that turned out to be an undercover DEA trap. After being caught in that, he was sentenced to produce anti-drug programming including some material called "Get High on Yourself."
There's some talk about an acquaintance of Evans killing someone who she thought was stealing cocaine from her (we don't see any drugs or the murder).

BLOOD/GORE: In a scene from a past horror movie, we see a hand moving along a woman's nude body (we see bare breasts) where there are trails of blood.
We see some blood when a person is shot in the head in some footage from an old film.
In footage from "Chinatown," we see a dried cut on Jack Nicholson's nose and then see the actual cutting of it with a knife (with blood splattering everywhere).
We see film footage of Al Pacino playing a character with blood on his face.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Evans could be viewed as having an egotistical and cocky attitude.
Evans repeatedly refers to director Roman Polanski (whom he hired to direct films for him) as a "Pollock."
We hear that Frank Sinatra demanded that his then-wife Mia Farrow quit "Rosemary's Baby" and that when she didn't, he had her served with divorce papers on the set.
Evans recounts learning of his wife Ali having an affair with Steve McQueen and then leaving Evans for him (although Evans blames her doing so on him ignoring her promise not to leave her alone).
There's some talk about an acquaintance of Evans killing someone who she thought was stealing cocaine from her (we don't see any drugs).

FRIGHTENING SCENES: It's possible some viewers could view some of the brief scenes from past movies that are listed under "Violence" as tense or unsettling.

GUNS/WEAPONS: The following are seen in clips from movies or previous footage that appear in this movie.
Knife: Seen in various clips from movies or rehearsals, including a large one being held and another being used to cut Jack Nicholson's nose in another.
Rifles with bayonets: Seen used during crowd control against protestors in archival footage (no violence).
Machine guns/Handguns: Briefly seen carried, used or fired in various old films, including killing or wounding others.
Bombs: Seen being dropped and exploding in archival footage from Vietnam.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "F*ck 'em," "Don't f*ck around with me," "The luckiest m*therf*cker," "What the f*ck do we do?" "F*ck him and the horse he rode in on," "Where the f*ck is it?" "How could I have been so f*cking dumb?" "They were all f*cking jealous," "Sh*tting in his pants," "I didn't want to bullsh*t him," "Just get him the hell out of here," "You bet your ass I was," "I work my ass off," "Half-assed," "(Are you) Nuts" (crazy), "Sure as hell," "Pollock" (how Evans repeatedly refers to director Roman Polanski), "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," "Take my number, I'm seven digits away," "Snot-nosed," "Broad" (woman), "Nuts" and "Balls" (testicles), "Artsy-fartsy," "Schmuck," "Nut" (crazy person), "Where the hell have you been?" "Pissed," "Damn well," "You bet your ass it is" and "Damn right."

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A mild amount of such music plays in several scenes.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 20 "f" words (3 used sexually, 1 used with "mother"), 5 "s" words, 3 slang terms using male genitals ("c*ck"), 1 slang term for female genitals ("c*nt"), 10 asses (1 used with "hole"), 8 hells, 4 damns, 2 uses of "God" and 1 use of "Oh God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Evans states that he was in a women's pants company with his brother and then states, "In other words, I was in women's pants."
Evans states one of the names he was known as was "Bludho and blowjob" (the first being his boss, Charlie Bluhdorn).
In a scene from a past horror movie, we see a hand moving along a woman's nude body (we see bare breasts).
We see a brief clip from "Love Story" where Ryan O'Neal climbs (clothed) onto a bed next to Ali MacGraw who appears to be in a hospital (but nothing happens between them).
Evans states that he thinks there were more pregnancies after "Love Story" than any other film every made and that it was an aphrodisiac.
In archival footage, Raquel Welch shows some cleavage at a premiere.
Classic style statues show bare breasts.
We see a head and shoulders shot of characters played by Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway (from "Chinatown") in bed, with her smoking.
Evans briefly recounts a story of being in bed with a woman and apparently being unable to perform due to physical pain (and with her then introducing him to cocaine).
We briefly see a still photo of Evan's face next to a woman's bare breast.
We see a somewhat grainy photo of Jack Nicholson that shows the side of his bare butt as he stands at somewhat of a distance from the camera that took the snapshot.
We see a topless sunbather lying face down (we see her bare back).
As Evans recounts various people in his life and comments on them, he also adds that he "literally f*cked" some of them.
In the end credits, there's a bit where Dustin Hoffman impersonates Evans and mentions some animal "f*cking" an elephant and he says he'd make such a movie. He then goes on about being in a maternity ward (instead of mental ward) and says that he didn't even know he had a vagina. He then says that he didn't know his wife had a "c*ck," mentions that it's a terrific one and then equates her to a dune that he says was the best he ever "f*cked." He then mentions wanting to see his own "c*nt."

SMOKING: We see stills or moving footage of Evans holding or smoking cigars more than 10 times, and the same holds true for Darryl Zanuck (cigars), Errol Flynn (cigarette), Mario Puzo (cigar), Faye Dunaway (cigarette), Jack Nicholson (cigarette), while various other miscellaneous people smoke cigars or cigarettes.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: We hear that Frank Sinatra served Mia Farrow with divorce papers on the set of a movie.
Evans recounts learning of his wife Ali having an affair with Steve McQueen and then divorcing Evans for him and taking their son.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The historical accuracy of the story and/or any artistic license taken by Evans in telling his tale.
How Hollywood works.
Evans stating that luck doesn't happen by mistake, but rather when opportunity meets preparation.
Evans' statement about living and dying by the press.
Evans' comment that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

VIOLENCE: The following are seen in clips from movies or previous footage that appear in this movie.
Some bombs are seen being dropped and exploding in archival footage from Vietnam.
In some archival footage, we see protestors throwing tires at National Guard vehicles, etc. and some property damage occurs.
We see some brief shots from old films that show: a dead man with a canary in his mouth; a person elbowing another person; a person being shot point-blank in the head (with some blood); a helicopter explodes; some people struggle and a person is stabbed; people in a car shoot Tommy guns at a fleeing person who shoots back at them; a person is thrown from a car; a person hits a person in the gut, and in footage from "Chinatown," we see a person sticking a knife blade into Jack Nicholson's nose and then slicing upward with it (with blood splattering everywhere).
There's talk of a person having been murdered, but we don't see the act.

Reviewed August 5, 2002 / Posted August 9, 2002

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